Is MJD the new Adrian Peterson?

Last year injury uncertainty dropped Adrian Peterson's fantasy draft value to previously unimaginable lows, especially for those that formulated a roster several weeks before the season opener. It is rather obvious all those that invested any pick in "All Day" appreciate the timid souls drafting in front of them.

Based on early evidence, Maurice Jones-Drew could be this year's Adrian Peterson.

Like the Vikings runner, MJD is a perennial first round selection in fantasy drafts and has high scoring reasons. Sorry, was a first-round lock. Now coming off a Lisfranc foot injury and the least productive season of his seven-year career, Jones-Drew is landing several rounds later in very early drafts.

In the three seasons prior to the 2012 campaign, the Jaguars star racked up no less than 1,641 yards from scrimmage and scored at least seven touchdowns. During his first six seasons, the human bowling ball tallied double-digit touchdowns at least four times. He caught at least 40 passes in all but one those initial half-dozen seasons. This basic statistical recap does no justice to MJD's previous fantasy dominance.

It also does not include his brutal 2012 campaign, one that began with a training camp holdout and ended after six games with the foot injury. In between there was just one game with over 100 yards from scrimmage. The usual MJD-ness was missing after the runner missed so much of the offseason squabbling over a new contract that never came.

The reality is there is typically little gained in terms of projecting drafts conducted in March and early April onto what the world will look like in August in September. The back-end of free agency remains, along with training camp and preseason. Indeed, much can transpire between now and when owners must actually make a call on when or if to get into the Jones-Drew business.

However, in this case we can gain insight into some collective perception of value. Right now Jones-Drew has lost plenty. If he's legit about being full speed by early summer, then owners need to get caught up with where MJD is going in drafts.